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Santa Ana Winds FC
Santa Ana Winds FC, also known as Winds FC, is a soccer team founded in 2006 in Santa Ana, California, and a founding United Premier Soccer League club currently playing at the Lake Forest Sports Park, with occasional matches played at Championship Stadium at the Orange County Great Park. The club takes its name from a Southern California weather condition known as the Santa Ana winds. Santa Ana Winds FC, an elite amateur and professional development club, has played international development squads in the past, namely matches against Club Atlas U-20 in March of 2011, Chivas de Guadalajara U-20 in November of 2011 and Monarcas Morelia Premier in March of 2018. On November 18, 2017, the club made history by qualifying to the 2018 U.S. Open Cup for the first time. On Tuesday, June 5, 2018, Winds FC winger Juan Arellano became the first player to transfer directly from Santa Ana Winds FC to an international professional club, Club Cartaginés of the Costa Rican Primera División. Other Winds FC players that moved directly to professional clubs in 2019 include striker Jordan Gorman (Milwaukee Torrent), defender Adán Coronado and midfielder Kyle O'Brien, who both moved to Cal United Strikers of the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). Santa Ana Winds FC was founded in 2006 by Leonel López and brothers. History SoCal Premier League Santa Ana Winds FC played in the SoCal Premier League from 2006 to 2011 before joining the National Premier Soccer League's West Region-Flight Southwest Conference, also in 2011. The club played in the 2006–07 Raúl Briones Cup, Group B, that they shared with Morelos, PSA and OC United. Winds FC finished third behind Morelos and PSA. NPSL Winds FC finished second in the National Premier Soccer League Southwest Conference during their sole NPSL season, made the playoffs and fell in the first round to Hollywood United Hitmen, a national finalist that year, by a score of 3–1. The club left the NPSL after one season due to a split between owners. One faction of ownership left and kept the Santa Ana Winds FC name, while forming a startup development league called the United Premier Soccer League, which was also founded in Santa Ana. The other faction of ownership continued to operate in the NPSL with the borrowed name Fullerton Rangers, and later called themselves Orange County Spartans, and finally OC Pateadores before disappearing from the NPSL. Winds FC shared the NPSL West – Flight Southwest conference with FC Hasental, Lancaster Rattlers (now FC Santa Clarita), San Diego Boca FC and the San Diego Flash. UPSL Santa Ana Winds FC was a founding club of the United Premier Soccer League, established in 2011. The club has been playing UPSL, Open Cup and State Cup matches since in Lake Forest, California or Irvine, California consistently in the last few years, while attempting to find a home field in the City of Santa Ana. Winds FC has one UPSL Championship title, from the 2012–13 season, a league cup title (later named Admiral Cup) from 2014, two Western Conference, SoCal Division Championship titles and one Western Conference Championship title from the Spring-Summer 2018 season. The club played all of their Spring 2016 league matches at the Lake Forest Sports Complex in Lake Forest, approximately 17 miles away from the City of Santa Ana, and began scheduling UPSL summer/fall season matches at Santa Ana College in July 2016. Other fields where the club has played UPSL matches include the Orange County Great Park and Las Lomas Park, both in Irvine. Winds FC began playing UPSL matches at the SAUSD Sports Complex Stadium, also known as Valley Falcons Stadium, in April 2017. On December 7, 2017 Santa Ana Winds FC played their first UPSL league match at the newly-built Championship Stadium at the Orange County Great Park against the LA Wolves, a game Winds FC won 3–1. Winds FC returned to Championship Stadium on January 7, 2018 in a playoff match against Orange County FC, a game Winds FC won 6–5 in penalty kicks. On January 13, Winds FC defeated the East Bay Stompers Juniors in the UPSL National Semifinal at Championship Stadium. Honors Titles *'UPSL Western Conference Champion, Spring 2018' *'UPSL Western Conference, SoCal Division Champion, Spring 2018' *'UPSL Western Conference, SoCal Division Champion, Fall-Winter, 2017–18' *'UPSL Fall-Winter National Championship: Runner-Up, 2017–18' *'UPSL, Admiral Cup Champions: 2014' *'United Premier Soccer League Champions: 2012–13' Individual Honors *'UPSL Most Valuable Player: Kyle O'Brien, UPSL Fall 2017' *'National Player of the Week: Jordan Gorman, UPSL 2017, Western Premier Division, Week 17' *'National Player of the Week: Adan Coronado, UPSL 2017, Western Premier Division, Week 3' Tournament Finishing *'U.S. Open Cup: Fourth Qualifying Round, 2019' *'U.S. Open Cup: Qualified, First Round, 2018' *'UPSL Fall-Winter National Championship: Runner-Up, 2017–18' *'Cal South State Cup, Quarterfinals, 2018' *'Cal South State Cup, Quarterfinals, 2017' *'US Open Cup, Second Qualifying Round, 2016' Category:UPSL Category:Open Division Category:NISA